Guilty on all counts: Brownsville man convicted in home invasion trial

A Fayette County jury deliberated well into Wednesday evening before convicting a Brownsville man on all counts related to a home invasion and robbery in Masontown.
Keith Johnson, 24, faced 48 charges, including multiple counts of aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, unlawful restraint, terroristic threats and several conspiracy charges that were merged into a single count.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Casini lauded Masontown police for their work in bringing Johnson to justice.
“Good police work led to the conviction of the mastermind of this violent home invasion,” said Casini after the verdict was read at around 7:30 p.m.
Johnson was identified by co-defendant Misty Danko of Uniontown as the ring leader in a plot to gain entry into the home of her children’s father, Ronald Packroni, and rob him and two other men at gunpoint.
A tearful Danko told jurors she was afraid for her life when Johnson told her he wanted her to arrange to meet Packroni at his home for a sexual encounter and then unlock the door for Johnson and two other men, Bernard Richardson and Broderick Harris, to come in.
Danko testified she was in a relationship with Johnson at the time and that Johnson overheard her speaking on the phone with Packroni about marijuana that was allegedly at his home.
That’s when she said Johnson began pressuring her to go along with the robbery plot.
Packroni’s brother, Jonathan Packroni, was also in the home the night of Jan. 14, 2014, as was their friend Jonathan Byers.
Jonathan Packroni’s son, who was then 4 years old, was in his bedroom when Danko and the masked men invaded the home, according to testimony, and although the intruders woke him to ask if he knew where money was kept, the boy was unharmed in the incident.
The Packroni brothers and Byers each testified they were bound and beaten by the three men and that the men threatened to kill them and the child if they didn’t give the intruders money.
Harris and Richardson were tried separately earlier this year, and both were convicted of several counts related to the incident. Danko’s charges are still pending.
On cross-examination, Johnson’s attorney, assistant public defender Michael Garofalo, drew the jurors’ attention to inconsistencies in stories Danko gave police.
He also asked her why, if she found the whole ordeal so upsetting, did she not call police or flee the scene and get help.
“I was scared out of my life,” Danko testified.
According to testimony, the robbers were unsatisfied with the amount of money and valuables they were able to find in the house, so Johnson took Byers to an ATM to withdraw cash from his account.
When Byers failed to produce cash from the ATM, the assault continued until he offered the key to his parents’ house nearby, where he said he had $50,000 in cash hidden in his basement bedroom.
Danko testified she and Johnson went to the Byers residence and stole the money, which was later divided among all four co-defendants. She said her share of the proceeds came to about $10,000.
Garofalo questioned Masontown Police Officer Thomas O’Barto about whether the clothing, guns, money and other stolen items were recovered when search warrants were served, and O’Barto said none of those items was found.
Garofalo declined to comment following the verdict, saying an appeal is likely.